Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-01-24
OVERHEARD IN A SMOKER
HOW A BIG RAILROAD SECRET
GOT TO THE PUBLIC.

A Firemsn's Quick Ears Penetrate the
Plans of the People Who Elected
General Alexander President OF the
CentraI-The Safety of Men who Spend
Their Lives or the Rail-A Fireman
Who Does Not Believe in the Heroic
Act"
Since the death of Vice President FL. NJ.
Hoxie, OF the Gould lines, a number of
| good stories about him have found their
way into print. 1t is noticeable that in
almost every one of them he is made the
victim OF the keen wit OF a fagman, or
some other emplOye. Although he was
''strictly business" and held but little
communication with employees, he had a
thorough appreciation OF their wit and
frequently made use OF them when he
wanted accurate Information. He once
SAID:
"lt you want to know the plans of rail
road magnates stop the first tlagman you
meet and interview him."
Vice President Hoxie was right, as i'm.
probable as 1t may seem. Here Is an
| illustration:
When the papers first gave the news of
Gen. Il. +. AleXanders intention TO be a
candidate for the Presidency of the Cen
| trial railroad, he was at a loss to under
sland how the information was obtained.
The MORNING NEWS is enabled TO ex-
plain. On each of the engines which
draw the through passenger trains be-
tween Savannah and Atlanta two fire.
men are employed. The run is long
| one-300 miles-and one fireman
could not keep up under the hard work
required. Going north one fireman Is at
work until the train reaches Gordon, and
then he retires while the other "ires"
until Atlanta is reached. AS rule, the
fireman off duty washes his face and
hands. puts on his Sunday clothes and
goes back to the smoking car to enjoy
rest.
Going out OF Savannah one night the
fireman off duty was sitting behind two
gentlemen in the smoking car, quietly
putting a cigar.
''They didn't know me"-to tell the
story In the tireman's words-"an' l
didn't know them. They talked pretty
loud, an | couldn't help hearin' what
they said. They were discussin' the Cen
trial. One of 'em said he'd bought all the
Central stock for sale In Savannah, but
he still didn't have enough. Il tell YOU
he said, we've got to be quick or RaOul
an his friends will catch on to our game.
Gen. Alexander's in New York buyin' all
the stock he can find, and our man in
Augustus doin' the same thing. You an
me, reckon, had better stop in Macon
tonight an see what can be done there
Well, sir, the other man began to talk.
an it wasn't two minutes fore he'd let
the cat out of the bag. You can Just
count on it, he said, wen get all the
stock we want. an Gen. Alexander will
be the next President of the Central
That woke me up. Pd often before over
heard big railroad men discussin' their
plans in the smoker, but that was
the biggest piece of news Pd ever caught
on to. AS soOn's | got into Atlanta l
went to see reporter who'd done me
favor an told him what I'd heard. Well,
sir, the whole scheme was in a dozen
papers the very next mOrnin'.
The advantage this story has over many
others is, that 1t is absolutely true
SAFETY ON THE RAIL.
The conductors on the through passen-
ger trains between Savannah and Atlanta
travel 5000 miles month, or 1900 miles
a year. The engineers and tiremen, OF
course, travel the same distance. 1t is
fact Of which the management of the
Central railroad has reason to be proud
that, notwithstanding their constant eX-
posture to danger, these men make their
trips year after year without being in
Iured. Maj. Burns, one of the Oldest of
the CentraPs engineers, used to say:
Ppm saier on my engine than l am on
the streets of Savannah"
A PERTINENT QUERY.
An employe of the Central propounds
This query:
"Why is it that engineers on steam
boats and steamships are required to
stand examinations as to their cOmpe-
tency, while engineers on railroads are
not%'
The query is pertinent one. There
doesn't seem to be any good reason why
human life should BIZ held cheaper on
railroads than on water.
THE HEROIC ACT.''
Every now and then thrilling story of
a tireman's heroism in elm bing down on
The pilot, as the engine rushes along, and
resoulng n child on the track from hor-
rible death finds its way into print. There
is tiremen on the Central railroad who
has no faith in such stories.
81 used TO run between Millen and
Augusta" he said the other day, "and
had an experience on that line, once,
which taught me that all such stories
were bosh. We were Jogging along at
the rate Of about ten miles an
hour. Looking ahead, saw
small dog on the track, evidently
determined not to get off. told the en-.
gineer | thought | would try the heroic
act and climb down on the pilot and save
the dogs life. He consented, and down
l went. Hay fat down on the pilot, hold
ing on with my left hand, and ready to
grab the dog with my right. When the
engine reached him l caught him by the
tail. An instant after, L turned loose
because, il hadn't, 1 would have been
drawn under the engine and crushed to
death. That was enough Tor me; | never
have believed any of those heroic fire
mem stories since. There is no living
man that can climb down on the pilot
and pick child off of the track while
the engine is running at a greater rate
OF speed than two miles an hour"